Apparatus for stretching and drying tubular fabrics



'(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1.

H. A. TULLAR.

APPARATUS FOR STRETGHING AND DRYING TUBULAR FABRICS.

Patented Feb. 26, 1895.

- heats-sheet 2.

(No Model.)

H. A. TULLAR. APPARATUS FOR STRBTGHINGAND DRYINGTUBULAR FABRICS.

N0. 534,641. Patented Feb. 26., 1895."

(Nd Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet a v H. A. TULLAR. APPARATUS FOR STRETGHING AND DRYING TUBULAR FABRICS. No. 534,641. Patented Feb. 26, 1895.

Units PATE T ruins,

HERBERT A. TULLAR, OF wATERvILLE, CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING AND DRYING TUBULAR FABRlCS.

$PEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 534,641, dated February 26, 1895.

- Application filed July 9, 1894. Serial No. 516,954. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERBERT A. TULLAR, of Waterville, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Apparatus for Stretching and Drying Tubular Fabrics and Straightening the Wale Thereof; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure 1, a view in front elevation of one form which an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention may assume; Fig. 1, a detached broken plan view showing one of the collars for preventing the edgewise movement of the spreader; Fig. 2, a side view thereof; Fig. 3, a plan view thereof; Fig. 4, a detached perspective view of the spreader shown as applied to the upper end of the rod; Fig. 5, a detached view in side elevation of the tension device; Fig. 6, a View of one of length of the fabric, which on that account has to be drawn and pulled in applying it to the crocheting machine, whereby it is distorted, and imperfect garments are produced. The line of the crosswise wale must be followed in preparing for crocheting.-

My invention is designed to avoid the objections heretofore encountered, and to produce a simple and efiective apparatus, which will stretch and dry the fabric in such a manner that its cross-wise wale will stand at a right angle to the length of the fabric, or to the lengthwise wale thereof.

With these ends in view, my invention consists in a drying, stretching and straightening apparatus having a spreader constructed with a cylindrical receiving and a flat delivering end.

My invention further consists in a stretching, drying and straightening apparatus hav- My invention further consists in certain de tails of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

As herein shown, the apparatus has a frame A, which may be of any approved construction, and which is set over a large fixed pipe B, within which I locate a smaller pipe 0, arranged concentrically with it, and provided at its lower end with a horizontally arranged circular platform, which turns with it, and upon which the fabric to be stretched, dried and straightened is supported. The said inner pipe 0, receives compressed heated air from any convenient sourceof supply, being preferably connected with ablower. Anonconducting jacket D, consisting, as herein shown, of strips of wood, arranged longitudinally with the said inner pipe, is applied thereto for preventing the fabric from drying in folds,'or from blistering on its way over the same. Of course, some other non-conducting material might be used in place of wood for to adapt the same to receive tubular fabric of comparatively small diameter.

The tension device, as herein shown, consists of an adjustable cylindrical cage, composed of four sets of wires or cage rods G, G, G and G and three collars G, G and G, which are mounted upon a central vertical supporting rod H, to which they are bound in any desired positions of adjustment by means of set-screws g, the lower end of the said rod H being secured to a stirrup H, pivotally secured at opposite points to the extreme upper end of the inner pipe 0. Only two rods of each set are shown, but it will be understood that there are a sufficient number of rods to form a virtually cylindrical cage; The lower ends .of the rods G, are pivotally attached to the lower collar G while they are pivotally connected near their upper ends to the lower ends of the rods G, the upper ends of which are pivotally connected to the upper collar The lower ends of the rods G are pivotally connected to the middle collar G while their upper ends are pivotally connected to the rods G at points near the upper ends of the same, the lower ends of the said rods G being pivotally connected to the extreme upper ends of the rods G. Under this arrangement, the rods G and G cross each other,

and the rods G maintain vertical positions in any adjustment of the device. Anti-friction rolls g are located in the extreme upper ends of the rods G and also at the lower ends thereof, where the same are pivotally connected with the extreme upper ends of the rods G. By preference I interpose a spiral spring G between the collars G and G the said spring being arranged to pull downward upon the collar G so that the device will antomatically close when the set-screws of the collars G and G are loosened preparatory to adjusting the device with reference to the work to be done. Thelittle anti-friction rollers g mounted in the frame, assist in guiding the work and reducing the friction of thepassage of the fabric over the cage which is designed to distend the fabric. I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to this particular form of tension device, as it may be substituted by other devices designed to do the same work. Thus, in Fig. 0 of the drawings I have shown a tension device constructed on the same general principle as the device above described, but without crossing its arms. I may use this modified form of device when it is desirable to have a tension device of relatively great length.

The spreader I, of my improved device, is cylindrical at its lower end, which substantially corresponds in diameter to the diameter of the tubular fabric being stretched. From its said cylindrical lower end the spreader tapers outward edgewise, and inward fiatwise, and terminates in a straight flat upper or delivery end, which is in the plane of its lower end. I design to make the straight flat upper end of the spreader half as long again as the diameter of the cylindrical lower end thereof, if not longer. As seen in Figs. 1 and at of the drawings, the spreader is shown in side elevation, and as growing wider edgewise from its lower to its upper end while as seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, in which the spreader is shown in edge elevation, it tapers flatwise from its lower to its upper end. As herein shown, the spreader is made hollow, and preferably it will be so made, and of sheet-metal. Within its cylindrical lower end it is furnished with a centrally arranged collar 1, provided with a set-screw I and supported by a series of radial spokes 1 the said collar receiving the upper end of the rod H before mentioned, and the spreader being vertically adjustable upon the said rod, as required.

It will be understood that each apparatus will be provided with a number of spreaders varying in size for interchangeable use, according to the diameter of the fabric to be stretched.

The spreader, on account of its peculiar shape, equalizes the tension upon the fabric in such a manner that the same willbe drawn from it under equal tension in every part, whereby the fabric is straightened, so that its cross-wise wale will stand exactly at a right angle to its lengthwise wale. Furthermore the spreader on account of its peculiar shape, supports the entire surface of the fabric continuously during the passage thereof over it. The adaptation of the spreader to do this contributes to its function of straightening the fabric, so that its cross wise wale will stand exactly at a right angle to its lengthwise wale as stated. On the other hand, the flat spreader heretofore employed in apparatus of this class, has imposed more friction or restraint upon the edges of the fabric than upon its center, so that the rolls will draw the center of the fabric upward faster than the edges thereof, whereby the cross-wise wale will be drawn into bowed or other irregular "form. Above the spreader I locate two horizontal feed-rolls K and K, peripherally roughened, or otherwise adapted to take hold of the fabric and draw it upward. These rolls may be actuated in any suitable manner. As herein shown the roll K is provided at one end with a pinion L, which meshes into a corresponding pinion L, carried by the roll K, the opposite end of the roll K carrying a cone pulley M, over which runs abelt M, also running overa cone pulley M which receives power from any convenient source, through a belt M The fabric is wound upon aroller O, the ends of the shaft 0 of which are received in long grooves P, open at their outer ends, and formed in the inner faces of two correspondingly inclined arms P P, located above the said feed-rolls, the motion of which is communicated to the roller 0 by friction through the fabric Wound thereupon. Adjacent to the upper end of the spreader, I locate ahorizontally arranged shaft Q, provided with two collars Q Q, each having a set-screw Q and a finger Q The said collars and their fingers prevent the edgewise movement of the spreader in either direction, while the sidewise movement thereof is avoided by extending its flattened upper end up between the two feed-rolls K K, as far as may be without their engagement therewith, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

It will be understood that when the apparatus is in operation, the tendency of the blast of hot air will be to lift the fabric toward the spreader, for the air has no escape except through the meshes of the fabric, and is therefore confined thereby. The tension device, is however, set so as to impose sufficient tension upon the fabric to resist this tendency of the air blast to lift the same, for if the fabric is lifted faster than it is rolled, it is liable to twist and wrinkle. The shape of the spreader is such that it first opens the tube into true cylindrical form, and then gradually shapes the same into the flattened form in which it is wound, and delivers it to the feedrollers neatly flattened and without wrinkles, and with the cross-wise wale exactly at a right angle with its lengthwise wale.

It will be understood, of course, that the rotatable inner pipe is to be rotated as required to take the twist out of the fabric, but that alone does not straighten the cross-wise wale of the fabric, which the spreader effectually does.

Iscarcely need explain that when the crosswise wale is straight, the fabric is worked up into garments with much greater convenience and economy, both of time and material, and with much better results, than when the crosswise wale is not straight, but distorted.

After the fabric is removed from the apparatus, it is out up into short lengths, which are placed on a crocheting machine for sewing up the seams, and the attachment of sleeves, cuffs, &c. If the cross-wise wale is straight, then the application of the fabric to the needles of the machine does not distort the fabric, but if the said wale is irregular the fabric has to be distorted to bring the stitches forming the said wale into line. It is well known that in the production of garments from tubular knitted fabrics, perfect work can only be secured when the cross-wise wale is straight, and stands at a right angle to the lengthwise wale of the fabric.

It is obvious that in carrying out my invention and in the use of the improved friction device and spreader, I am not limited to the apparatus herein shown, for plainly they may be used in connection with apparatus of different construction. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the exactconstruction herein shown and described, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv 1. An apparatus for drying and rolling tubular fabric,l1aving a tapering spreader circular at its receiving end, fiat at its delivering end, widening edgewise from its receiving to its delivering end, converging fiatwise from its receiving to its delivering end, and presenting between the said endsa continuous surface for supporting the fabric during the passage thereof over it, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for drying and rolling tubular fabric, the combination with a central, supporting rod, of a tension device 0011- sisting of an adjustable cylindrical cage, composed of three collars adj ustably mounted upon the said supporting rod, and four sets of cage-rods pivotally connected with each other, and with the said collars, one set of the said cage-rods being arranged parallel with the central supporting rod, and the rods of the other three sets of cage-rods being inclined to the said central rod and pivoted at their inner ends to the respective collars, and connected at their outer ends with the ends of the said set of parallel rods substantially as set forth.

8. In a device for drying and rolling tubular fabric, the combination with a rotatable pipe over which the fabric is passed, of a rod pivotally connected with that end of the said pipe over which the fabric passes in leaving the same, a tension device mounted upon said rod, a spreader located upon said rod at a point beyond the tension device, and means located beyond the spreader for drawing the fabric over the tension device and spreader and rolling it, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERBERT A. TULLAR.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM P. J ARRETT, O. J. BENJAMIN. 

